


Recovery

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:11:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anne is rescued and Alex looks after her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recovery

Alex walked out of the frozen valley slowly, careful not to jostle her precious cargo too much.

“You can go faster, I won’t break,” Anne mumbled. She’d been shivering since she’d returned from Pandoria, although her shivers weren’t so violent now. Alex was still trying to decide whether that was a good thing or not.

“I just don’t want to drop you,” said Alex. “And I don’t want to let go of you. Ever.”

“Oh, that’s sweet.” Anne smiled but didn’t move. Even just this slight motion made her dizzy.

“You look way too skinny,” said Alex. “Were they feeding you at all in there?”

“Yes,” said Anne. “Only then I got sick so I didn’t have the strength to teleport my food in. It just sat outside my cell.”

“Well then, we’ll make the café our first stop,” Alex promised. “Or maybe I should take you to Elizabeth’s and see if she can get you something to eat.”

“Yes, take me to her,” Anne decided. “I don’t think I’m sick anymore, just weak.”

“While she’s out getting food if she does go out to get food, I’ll stay with you. Do you think you can tell me about your time in there?” Alex asked.

“I can barely string sentences together,” said Anne. “You can tell me about what’s been going on, though. What I missed.”

Alex still wasn’t completely sure that all of this was real. But the freezer burn on her hands from the fight with Katja was real enough. So was the cut on her cheek.

“I really missed you,” she finally said. “I don’t know how I managed to stop myself from killing her back there.”

“She would’ve only come back,” said Anne. “You know that’s how the Dark Riders work.”

“Yeah, I know. Cheaters,” said Alex. 

They finally reached Elizabeth’s hut, and luckily Alex didn’t even have to knock on the door.

“The Soul Riders are reunited,” said Elizabeth with a smile. 

“Yes, but none of us are okay right now. Well, except for Linda. Katja showed up,” said Alex.

“Where are your horses?” Elizabeth asked, looking out of her front window.

“They’re coming,” said Alex. “Lisa and Louisa are bringing them. The most important thing to me was bringing Anne back.”

“Well, you’ve brought her back physically, now we have to bring her back to full health,” said Elizabeth. “I’ll find some gentle foods for her. You find some blankets and water. Don’t worry about leaving her, she’ll be safe anywhere in my cottage.”

“Do you promise?” asked Alex, looking at her with hope in her eyes. “I can’t lose her again. Not after I just got her back.”

“Yes, I promise,” said Elizabeth. “What she needs the most right now is warmth and food.”

Alex quickly went to the large basket that Elizabeth kept blankets in and removed several before returning to the bed that she’d gently lain Anne on.

“Do you think that’s enough?” asked Anne, and giggled softly. Despite her words, though, she still shivered even with all of the blankets wrapped around her.

“You weren’t warmer at all,” said Alex, and frowned as the realisation hit her. “You were just losing the feeling.”

“It’s so easy to freeze in there,” said Anne. “Especially when you’re wearing the same clothes you were when you were first imprisoned.”

Alex didn’t even hesitate to climb into the blankets and wrap herself around her shivering girlfriend.

“You’re so warm,” Anne whispered. She pressed herself into Alex’s warmth, feeling it start to beat back the coldness. “Much better than all the blankets in the world.”

“I’m glad it worked,” said Alex. There was no part of Anne that she could touch without remembering all that she’d gone through, but she still rubbed her hands over her body to warm her up.

“And I am glad,” said Anne, “that your touch is the first human touch I’ve felt in years.” She kissed Alex, and suddenly all was right in the world.

“Now you’re the one with chapped lips,” said Alex. “I’ll let you borrow my chapstick if you want.”

“I’d prefer to apply it from your lips,” said Anne, and kissed her again. The kisses, the flirting, the closeness, all of it was warming her up so that she barely shivered anymore.

“The day you went missing,” said Alex, “I wanted to take Sands on by myself. Well, it was the middle of the night for me when I felt you disappear. It woke me up and at first I thought it was a bad dream but it was real. You were gone.” Her voice broke on the last word, and she started crying.

“But I’m here now,” Anne reminded her. “You don’t have to worry about anything anymore. I’m here and I’m not going anymore.”

“I dreamed that you were back, too,” said Alex, wiping away her tears. “So many times but then I’d wake up and remember. They were even worse than the torture dreams.”

“Torture dreams?” Anne echoed. “I thought she was joking when she said that. A cruel joke, but a joke nonetheless.”

“What?” Alex asked. This time when she wiped away her tears, no more came to take their place.

“Katja told me that she was going to give you nightmares about me undergoing the worst kinds of torture. Which was ironic because the thought of you suffering was a kind of torture for me,” said Anne.

“I wish I could kill her,” said Alex. “Why won’t she just leave me alone? All I did was call her out on being a cheating bitch and now she hates me.”

“Maybe it’s because she can’t control you,” said Anne. “Or maybe she just doesn’t like losing.”

“Well she’s going to keep on losing as long as I’m around,” said Alex. “I’m gonna help you get better and then I’m gonna make sure that nobody can hurt you again.”

“I hope that you gave the others the same promise,” said Anne. “You have to protect them too, warrior, not just me.”

“I was trying to sound romantic,” said Alex. “You know I wouldn’t hesitate to protect the rest of them.”

“I’m glad,” said Anne. “Now, where is Elizabeth with that food? I desperately need to bathe but I need food first.”

She was really back. Alex hugged her a little tighter and kissed her again. It was good to have them all together again, and all back at home on Jorvik.


End file.
